Vance AFB Strike Public Opinion's

Letters to the Editor 6-19-09 in the Enid Eagle Newspaper

Time to reconsider Vance AFB contractors



It appears the Enid community, your newspaper and the U.S. Air Force intend to take no position, while our major source of commerce and industry is manipulated by a very few individuals who show little concern for the city, county, state and nation.

Vance Army Air Corps and Air Force Base operated efficiently and effectively for over half a century as both a full military and a privately-contracted facility. Under full military operation there was never a work stoppage or slow-down, any cessation of military readiness, or transfer of operations.

The United States of America depends on a military force that can assure our national safety and security in any and every circumstance. The city of Enid, Garfield County and the state of Oklahoma need Vance Air Force Base to function efficiently whether it is operated as a quasi-military or a full scale military facility. Economy of operation should be a consideration in the expenditure of any public monies, but cannot be paramount in keeping our nation safe and secure.

This strike clearly requires attempts to operate all or part of Vance Air Force Base on a contract basis must be re-examined immediately.

If contract services continue, then the prohibition of contractual agents, their employees and representatives to engage in any “strike” or work “slow-down” must be specifically set out in any new contract, as for all other public employees.

The nation’s economy and its military are under assault from within. As usual, our politicians call upon someone else to handle the “heavy lifting.”

They pontificate but defer difficult decisions until their terms are completed, or they are thrown out of office. No one speaks out to prevent taxpayers from being “Goettlefingered” a second time.

Gib Rainey

Chili's Restraunt

We just received word out at the base to stay away from Chili's restraunt downtown, didn't give us any details. Anyone have anymore info?

Iraqi soldier turns on US soldiers

Iraqi soldier kills 2 US soldiers, wounds 3

May 2, 8:15 PM (ET)

By BRIAN MURPHY

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BAGHDAD (AP) - An Iraqi soldier opened fire on a U.S. military team Saturday, killing two American soldiers and wounding three, the U.S. military said, in an attack that could sharpen worries about the extent of militant infiltration in Iraq's security forces.

Iraqi officials described the attacker - who was killed in the gunbattle - as a soldier who also served as a Sunni Muslim preacher for his unit near Mosul, which is one of the last urban strongholds for Sunni insurgents.

Such an ambush could increase pressure on the Shiite-led government to try to root out possible turncoats and slow efforts to bring Sunni militiamen into the police and military as rewards for helping battle al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent factions.

But any possible slowdown of the Sunni outreach will meet resistance from Washington, which sees the sectarian reconciliation as essential for Iraq's stability and to keep security gains from rolling back.

A U.S. military statement said the attacker was killed after firing on the U.S. soldiers near the entrance to a combat outpost 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Mosul.

A separate gunman fired at other U.S. soldiers at the outpost, then fled, according to Maj. Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for American forces in northern Iraq.

In the past, attackers have used military and police uniforms to bypass checkpoints and gain access to heavily guarded bases. But several Iraqi military officials said the gunman was a low-ranking Iraqi soldier.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

It was the latest case of a member of Iraq's security forces targeting U.S. troops. On Feb. 24, two Iraqi police officers in Mosul opened fire on a visiting U.S. military team, killing one American soldier and an interpreter. The gunmen remain fugitives.

Earlier this week, a U.S. military spokesman, 1st Lt. John Brimley, called the February shooting "definitely an anomaly."

Saturday's attack follows the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq since September - with 18 American soldiers dying in Iraq in April.

Elsewhere, U.S.-backed Iraqi troops arrested the leader of a Sunni paramilitary group north of Baghdad in the town of Duluiyah.

Mullah Nadhim al-Jubouri, and his two brothers, Yassir and Thakir, were arrested on warrants accusing them of terrorism, the U.S. military said, without elaborating.

The move was likely to spark anger among members of the so-called Awakening Councils, which have turned against al-Qaida in Iraq in what is considered a key factor in the drop in violence.

The Iraqi government has assumed control of the groups from the U.S. military, but many of the Sunni guards accuse it of failing to pay them and of making unfair arrests.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, security patrols were boosted after an attempted suicide bombing Friday was foiled by guards at the last moment at a Shiite mosque.

Authorities identified the would-be attacker as a Syrian teenager who they believe was recruited by al-Qaida in Iraq. The suspect - 19-year-old Ammar Afif Hamada - was tackled on the doorsteps of the mosque while it was filled with worshippers.

The dramatic capture was welcome good news for Iraqi authorities after a spike in blasts by suspected Sunni insurgents that have claimed more than 200 lives since late April and raised question about the durability of recent security gains.

It also could offer investigators insights into insurgent operations in northern Iraq and smuggling routes from Syria - long considered one of the main pipelines to replenish insurgent ranks from across the region.

Hamada traveled from Syria to the northern city of Mosul about a week ago, then arrived Wednesday in Kirkuk, where he was moved from safe house to safe house in mainly Sunni areas, according to a police officer involved in the investigation. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

Kirkuk police chief Maj. Gen. Torhan Abdul-Rahman Youssef confirmed the details and said Hamada has been an al-Qaida operative in Iraq for the past four years and has confessed to participation in many operations in Diyala province and Baghdad.

Hamada, meanwhile, was being treated for serious head injuries at a hospital in Kirkuk after being beaten by guards and worshippers at the scene, police said.

Tensions have risen in Kirkuk as Kurdish leaders seek to incorporate it into their semiautonomous area, making it one of the most politically sensitive issues for Iraqi leaders and for U.S. military commanders preparing to withdraw their troops by the end of 2011.

The showdown is so volatile that Kirkuk was excluded from regional elections in January and the United Nations has offered a proposal for compromise plans.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" in a segment to air Sunday, described Kirkuk's ethnic rifts as one of Iraq's most complicated puzzles. "From an Arab-Kurd point of view, Kirkuk is a bigger problem by far than Mosul," he said. "Mosul is really still a security problem from the standpoint of al-Qaida is still using that as kind of their last redoubt, if you will. But, you know, I think (the Iraqis) will continue to work these things through."

April 2009

April deadliest month for US in Iraq in 7 months

By KIM GAMEL

BAGHDAD (AP) - The U.S. death toll for April rose to 18, the military said Friday, making it the deadliest in seven months for American forces in Iraq. The sharp increase from the previous month came as a series of bombings also pushed Iraqi deaths to their highest level this year.

In the latest violence, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a restaurant on the reservoir of Iraq's largest dam near the northern city of Mosul. At least five people were killed and 10 wounded, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.

The spike in attacks has raised concerns that insurgents are stepping up their efforts to re-ignite sectarian bloodshed as well as questions about the readiness of the Iraqis to take over responsibility for their own security as U.S. troops begin to withdraw.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. David Perkins blamed the recent bombings on al-Qaida in Iraq, saying the terror network is making a push to regain influence, particularly in Baghdad.

"We have had some increase in the number of these high-profile attacks, but nowhere near what we were seeing a year or a year and half ago," he said Friday in a briefing for reporters.

The Iraqi and the U.S. militaries also have faced new hurdles as Iraqi officials grow more assertive about enforcing a security agreement that regulates the conduct of American troops in the field.

Iraq also has not yielded to American requests to allow access to a captured militant Iraqi authorities claim is the head of Iraq's main al-Qaida front group, Perkins said.

Authorities described Abu Omar al-Baghdadi's capture last week as a major setback for Sunni insurgents trying to intensify attacks after a relative lull. But the U.S. military has questioned his existence in the past.

"The detainee that the Iraqis are calling al-Baghdadi is in the custody of the Iraqi security forces, and we have not had any access to him," Perkins said. "We are in discussions with the Iraqis to determine how we can confirm or deny who he is."

In the past, the U.S. military has been the one to detain and announce high-profile detainees who are captured or killed, such as the 2006 death of the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Tensions also rose Friday in northern Iraq after American forces killed two men during a raid in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.

The provincial governor's office and tribal leaders said the raid violated the security agreement regulating U.S. forces' conduct and demanded an apology.

The U.S. military, however, said it was an Iraqi-led joint operation and the two men killed were suspected of planting roadside bombs. The suspects were armed and resisted arrest, according to a statement, adding that U.S. troops shot the two men "for their own safety and the safety of their Iraqi partners."

Security was tightened in Tikrit after hundreds of angry mourners - some firing weapons into the air - took to the streets to protest the killings. The demonstrators shouted "Down with America!" and promised revenge.

The action came nearly a week after anger broke out over a deadly U.S. raid in the southern Shiite city of Kut. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called that raid a "crime" that violated the security pact.

Most of the recent violence has targeted Iraqis since the Americans have begun pulling back from inner-city outposts in preparation for a withdrawal from urban areas by the end of June. But attacks have continued against U.S. forces.

Two U.S. Marines and one sailor were killed Thursday while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, according to a statement. Anbar is a former insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad that has been relatively calm since Sunni tribal leaders turned against al-Qaida in Iraq.

The U.S. military did not give further details about the attack but said the Americans were providing requested support to Iraqi forces when it occurred.

The attack raised to at least 18 the number of American troops deaths in April, double the nine killed in March, which was the lowest since the war began in March 2003.

That made April the deadliest month for U.S. forces since September, when 25 American troops died.

April also saw the most troops killed in combat so far this year, as opposed to other causes. Thirteen of last month's 18 deaths were in combat compared with four among the nine in March.

In all, at least 4,281 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began, according to an Associated Press count.

Civilian deaths in Iraq in April were also higher than previous months following a series of high-profile bombings.

At least 371 Iraqis were killed - in addition to 80 Iranian pilgrims - in violence in April, compared with 335 Iraqis killed in March, 288 in February and 242 in January, according to an AP tally.

Iraqi police, meanwhile, said they had foiled a planned suicide bombing and arrested the suspected attacker near a Shiite mosque in the northern city of Kirkuk.

Panicked worshippers fled after hearing of the attempt, and some were wounded by broken glass as they tried to jump through the windows to escape.

--- Associated Press Writers Chelsea J. Carter and Mazin Yahya contributed to this report.

Mexico Swine Flu Outbreak

Mexico swine flu deaths spur global epidemic fear

By MARK STEVENSON

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A unique strain of swine flu is the suspected killer of dozens of people in Mexico, where authorities closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in the capital on Friday to try to contain an outbreak that has spurred concerns of a global flu epidemic.

The worrisome new virus - which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before - also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths in the U.S.

"We are very, very concerned," World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human ... It's all hands on deck at the moment."

The outbreak caused alarm in Mexico, where more than 1,000 people have been sickened. Residents of the capital donned surgical masks and authorities ordered the most sweeping shutdown of public gathering places in a quarter century.

President Felipe Calderon said his government only learned late Thursday, with the help of international laboratories, what kind of virus Mexico is faced with. "We are doing everything necessary," he said after meeting with his Cabinet to coordinate a response. "We understand the seriousness of the problem."

The WHO was convening an expert panel to consider whether to raise the pandemic alert level or issue travel advisories.

It might already be too late to contain the outbreak, a prominent U.S. pandemic flu expert said late Friday.

Given how quickly flu can spread around the globe, if these are the first signs of a pandemic, then there are probably cases incubating around the world already, said Dr. Michael Osterholm at the University of Minnesota.

In Mexico City, "literally hundreds and thousands of travelers come in and out every day," Osterholm said. "You'd have to believe there's been more unrecognized transmission that's occurred."

There is no vaccine that specifically protects against swine flu, and it was unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer. A "seed stock" genetically matched to the new swine flu virus has been created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, said Dr. Richard Besser, the agency's acting director. If the government decides vaccine production is necessary, manufacturers would need that stock to get started.

Authorities in Mexico urged people to avoid hospitals unless they had a medical emergency, since hospitals are centers of infection. They also said Mexicans should refrain from customary greetings such as shaking hands or kissing cheeks. At Mexico City's international airport, passengers were questioned to try to prevent anyone with flu symptoms from boarding airplanes and spreading the disease.

Epidemiologists are particularly concerned because the only fatalities so far were in young people and adults.

The eight U.S. victims recovered from symptoms that were like those of the regular flu, mostly fever, cough and sore throat, though some also experienced vomiting and diarrhea.

U.S. health officials announced an outbreak notice to travelers, urging caution and frequent handwashing, but stopping short of telling Americans to avoid Mexico.

Mexico's Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said 68 people have died of flu and the new swine flu strain had been confirmed in 20 of those deaths. At least 1,004 people nationwide were sick from the suspected flu, he said.

The geographical spread of the outbreaks also concerned the WHO - while 13 of the 20 deaths were in Mexico City, the rest were spread across Mexico - four in central San Luis Potosi, two up near the U.S. border in Baja California, and one in southern Oaxaca state.

Scientists have long been concerned that a new flu virus could launch a worldwide pandemic of a killer disease. A new virus could evolve when different flu viruses infect a pig, a person or a bird, mingling their genetic material. The resulting hybrid could spread quickly because people would have no natural defenses against it.

Still, flu experts were concerned but not alarmed about the latest outbreak.

"We've seen swine influenza in humans over the past several years, and in most cases, it's come from direct pig contact. This seems to be different," said Dr. Arnold Monto, a flu expert with the University of Michigan.

"I think we need to be careful and not apprehensive, but certainly paying attention to new developments as they proceed."

The CDC says two flu drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, seem effective against the new strain. Roche, the maker of Tamiflu, said the company is prepared to immediately deploy a stockpile of the drug if requested.

Both drugs must be taken early, within a few days of the onset of symptoms, to be most effective.

Cordova said Mexico has enough Tamiflu to treat 1 million people, but the medicine will be strictly controlled and handed out only by doctors.

Mexico's government had maintained until late Thursday that there was nothing unusual about the flu cases, although this year's flu season had been worse and longer than past years.

The sudden turnaround by public health officials angered many Mexicans.

"They could have stopped it in time," said Araceli Cruz, 24, a university student who emerged from the subway wearing a surgical mask. "Now they've let it spread to other people."

The city was handing out free surgical masks to passengers on buses and the subway system, which carries 5 million people each day. Government workers were ordered to wear the masks, and authorities urged residents to stay home from work if they felt ill.

Closing schools across Mexico's capital of 20 million kept 6.1 million students home, as well as thousands of university students. All state and city-run cultural activities were suspended, including libraries, state-run theaters, and at least 14 museums. Private athletic clubs closed down and soccer leagues were considering canceling weekend games.

The closures were the first citywide shutdown of public gathering places since thousands died in the devastating 1985 earthquake.

Mexico's response brought to mind other major outbreaks, such as when SARS hit Asia. At its peak in 2003, Beijing shuttered schools, cinemas and restaurants, and thousands of people were quarantined at home.

In March 2008, Hong Kong ordered more than a half-million students to stay home for two weeks because of a flu outbreak. It was the first such closure in Hong Kong since the outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.

"It's great they are taking precautions," said Lillian Molina, a teacher at the Montessori's World preschool in Mexico City, who scrubbed down empty classrooms with Clorox, soap and Lysol between fielding calls from worried parents.

U.S. health officials said the outbreak is not yet a reason for alarm in the United States. The five people sickened in California and three in Texas have all recovered.

It's unclear how the eight, who became ill between late March and mid-April, contracted the virus because none were in contact with pigs, which is how people usually catch swine flu. And only a few were in contact with each other.

CDC officials described the virus as having a unique combination of gene segments not seen before in people or pigs. The bug contains human virus, avian virus from North America and pig viruses from North America, Europe and Asia. It may be completely new, or it may have been around for a while and was only detected now through improved testing and surveillance, CDC officials said.

The most notorious flu pandemic is thought to have killed at least 40 million people worldwide in 1918-19. Two other, less deadly flu pandemics struck in 1957 and 1968.

---_

Associated Press Writers Maria Cheng in London; Traci Carl in Mexico City; Mike Stobbe in Atlanta, Georgia; and Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report.